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WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans are the party of the rich,
right? It's a label that has stuck for decades, and you're hearing it
again as Democrats complain about GOP opposition to raising the minimum
wage and extending unemployment benefits.

But in Congress, the
wealthiest among us are more likely to be represented by a Democrat than
a Republican. Of the 10 richest House districts, only two have
Republican congressmen. Democrats claim the top six, sprinkled along the
East and West coasts. Most are in overwhelmingly Democratic states like
New York and California.

The richest: New York's 12th
Congressional District, which includes Manhattan's Upper East Side, as
well as parts of Queens and Brooklyn. Democrat Carolyn Maloney is in her
11th term representing the district.

Per capita income in
Maloney's district is $75,479. That's more than $75,000 a year for every
man, woman and child. The next highest income district, which runs
along the southern California coast, comes in at $61,273. Democrat Henry
Waxman is in his 20th term representing the Los Angeles-area district.

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi's San Francisco district comes in at No. 8.

Across
the country, Democratic House districts have an average per capita
income of $27,893. That's about $1,000 higher than the average income in
Republican districts. The difference is relatively small because
Democrats also represent a lot of poor districts, putting the average in
the middle.

Democrats say the "party of the rich" label is more about policies than constituents.

During
the 2012 presidential election, Republican nominee Mitt Romney
declared, "We're not the party of the rich. We're the party of the
people who want to get rich."

The famously wealthy Romney also uttered a more famous quote about the 47 percent of Americans who pay no federal income tax.

"My
job is not to worry about those people," Romney said in a secretly
taped speech at a private fundraiser. "I'll never convince them that
they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives."

In
the election, Romney carried only one income group: people making
$100,000 or more, according to exit polls. But when it comes to
Congress, the rich districts like their Democrats.

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